Can root bound become an issue in small pot?

[mikeross]

I currently grow in pure coco, 2gal fabric pots, multi feeding. I'm getting tired of cleaning these fabric pots and thinking of making the switch to plastic pots. My concern is plants getting root bound. Fabric pots self prune but the hard shell pots won't.

I'm 100% positive these plants will be root bound within the first few weeks of flower. Is this going to be an issue in coco if I am feeding multiple times a day?

I see plenty of grows online in coco, small hard shell pots, so I know its done... any tips or insight is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TdotGonG]

Root bounding is just not focusing on veg to flip time, I do it all the time and get some issues with root bounding, because I like to fully mature the plant in eg before switching. Im starting to get sick of the fab pots. I personally think they increase precipitate, by giving the minerals a place to allow a covalent bond on the fabrics surface. I switched over to .5gl-7gl plastic pots an like them much better personally. I don't think the fab pots are cracked up to what they seem. And if you're running heavy lighting and c02, GL on keeping soil moisture retention at surface if you don't use vermiculite, or some type of surface moisture retention. I\d honestly like to try some sort of Thickened PVA mesh material that degrades over time but not enough during a cycle to be unusable. Just my .2c on it.

 

[mikeross]

I'm sure they allow some salt buildup. I can see the residue on the pots. I run drip clean and do a partial flush weekly when I dump my rez prior to mixing a new batch of nutes. I don't have any issue with salt buildup.

I'm thinking now of just buying a washing machine and dedicating it to washing fabric pots. I need to wash about 150 of them every 4-5 weeks.

 

[DunHav`nFun]

I'm sure they allow some salt buildup. I can see the residue on the pots. I run drip clean and do a partial flush weekly when I dump my rez prior to mixing a new batch of nutes. I don't have any issue with salt buildup.

I'm thinking now of just buying a washing machine and dedicating it to washing fabric pots. I need to wash about 150 of them every 4-5 weeks.

Sorry I mossed this 1 Mike......Here`s my old solution to smartpots and rootballs but.....this is only viable if you run perpetual , so here `s what my old ass came up with.......Went to the local Co-op and got Rubbermaid catle feed troughs outta plastic/fiberglass wtf ever heavy duty thick shit , put em up on concrete blocks, cut a hole in the bottoms and put in a drain with cutoff valve.........Filled em up halfway with water , and I forget how much pond enzymes I added but it wasn`t a lot and that shit was for treating like a million gals at a time so needless to say , a lil bit went a long way.....now......My rotations ran every 10 weeks cut in 1/2 doin perpetual , so every 5 weeks I cut 64 3 footers and hung em whole completely de-foliated by week 5 with all but no trimming involved after dry and cure.....threw whole containers in rootball and all and they soaked for a month......

A week before needin em , troughs got drained and smartpots removed and ready for refilling since all roots were dead and gone leaving coco to dry out and be re-used the following cycle.....Rinse and repeat every 5 weeks....so on and so forth......all the fluffier pithy fibrous coco got re-used and remixed with new for all following runs , and the coffee grounds mushy shit got composted for veggie garden at the farm.....I did use chunky perlite too which reminds all to put screens in drainholes to prevent cloggin , but I`d be concerned about washing machine drains cloggin like the first run with smartpots and rootzone material even with minimum coco residue.....and lastly.....

Plastic pots cause root spinning that will actually root"bind" a container a lot faster than fabric pots that "air-prune" roots , as to where fabric pots breathe and dry out a lot faster than plastic , I think they`re more conducive to multi-fed smaller containers through out the lights on cycle and promotes dialed breathable rootzones IME , but see boys and girls.......Here`s the kicker with coco......You can run 1 gal pots fed up to 6 times a day and pull 8oz plants like HGO usedta do with clone only Chem D`s , but it`s all in dialing each strains needs and wants.....Take care Bro and hope that helps, and hell......I guess if yas can make hash in washin machines , you can wash smartpots eh ?.....Good luck and .....

Peace.....DHF.............